Environment, Finance, Health, Politics, Reality Modification

Tag Archives: Health

Trinity Bourne – It seems like an eternity since I made my first raw carrot cake, some 15 years ago. A small group (4 of us) formed the ‘Raw Pudding Club’ – we’d gather before lunch, all bringing the most delicious raw desserts (with an occasional salad on the side ). We’d spend 12 hours straight indulging, chatting, learning, laughing, crying and inspiring one another with anything from food to optimal health to bushcraft skills or even how to fix your car. My ‘Raw Pudding Club’ friends will always have a special place in my heart…

Raw Carrot Cake was my speciality. It had a intangible je ne sais quoi about it. I used quite fancy equipment back to make it back then, but recently decided to bring it back in a way that just about anyone could create. This is really special to me and it’s an honour and joy to share it with you. I’ve even created a video that shows you how below (especially helpful for visual cues)!

It’s best to use a food processor to get the right cake-like consistency; although you can get away with using a blender or even a hand blender (but beware that you don’t over blend it!).

I use soaked dates, walnuts and carrots to create the main body of the cake, along with a decadent dance of flavours from freshly ground nutmeg, fresh ginger and ground cinnamon. Every ingredient is full of goodness. In fact each slice of cake is a meal in itself! Having said that, it’s still incredibly rich, so enjoy in moderation.

Braxton A. Cosby – There is quite a bit of speculation around the power of the mind over the body concerning performance and more specifically, from the aspect of healing. There is a strong element of proof behind this when you get down to the hard science of how the body functions. At all times, the body wants to maintain a state of homeostasis. It never really wants to be completely well or sick, but walk the fine line of wellness, expressed across the three paradigms of mental, physical and spiritual. If we break down each one of these, we would have to look at the overall effects they have on an individual and the components which make up each one.

Mental – the part of the psyche that helps to regulate how one sees themselves. Are you a winner or a loser, fat or skinny, healthy or sick, attractive or ugly? Although some of these examples of descriptors are extreme one way or another, truth be told, most people feel some kind of way about it. Ultimately, how you function in society carries an element of confidence with it which can be driven by any myriad of factors. These examples comprise only a small dimension

Physical – a measurement of how the body functions as compared to standardized baselines and norms. This incorporates body types, height, weight, BMI and other nominal scientific data such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. These numbers suggest how well the body is tolerating outside influences such as food, nutrition and even weather elements such as smoke and pollution. Continue reading →

Susan Patterson – It sits in my cupboard, probably much like yours — a cheap box of what is better known as the go-to fridge and freezer deodorizer. Yes, you might also cook with it, but I bet you didn’t know there are a gazillion ways to put sodium bicarbonate to work in your home. It seems that I find new uses for this stuff daily.

Before we dig into some really practical applications, allow me a minute to clarify what exactly baking soda really is. Quite simply, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is a chemical salt that, in its natural form, is the mineral nahcolite. This interesting substance can react as both an acid and a base, although in an aqueous solution it is a bit on the alkaline side.

Pure nahcolite is found in abundance in the Green River Basin which cuts through several states in the central part of our country. A number of commercial companies mine nahcolite directly from the ground and sell it as a raw product, while others heat and treat it with chemicals and then sell it. Either way, both methods produce an environmentally friendly product.

Alrighty, now that we have the short and sweet science lesson out of the way, I am going to let you in on 23 ways I have actually used baking soda in my home. You wouldn’t believe the money I have saved — I regularly purchase about three boxes of the stuff every time I go to the grocery store. Like many other natural substances such as Epsom salt, and coconut oil, baking soda is highly esteemed in my home and gets front and center pantry real estate.

#1 Ultimate pot and pan scrubber — It never fails, I always seem to char my pots and pans. Good news, a little baking soda and water combined with just the right amount of elbow grease is an easy and safe way to get your pots and pans sparkling clean. Continue reading →

J. D. Heyes – Anti-GMO activists and those who advocate for organic foods have a lot to be happy about regarding the recent decision by fast food retailer giant McDonald’s to stop publishing its traditional monthly revenue reports. Their decision has everything to do with the fact that more Americans are now making better food choices.

As reported by Bloomberg News, McDonald’s has announced it won’t be publishing monthly same-store sales results in the coming days as Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook works feverishly to revive revenue growth at the world’s biggest fast food chain.

For now, the company plans to release same-store sales reports for June with second-quarter earnings data, but then they will stop providing the monthly revenue reports, according to company spokeswoman Heidi Barker. In an email to Bloomberg News, Barker said results for May will be reported on June 8. The company does plan to continue providing quarterly reports of comparable-store sales.

Hiding the poor sales – and the reasons behind them

As the business news wire also reported, the fast food chain has been under economic siege for some time:

McDonald’s is struggling to turn around its business after 11 straight months of declining global comparable-store sales. Easterbrook, who took the helm in March, announced a turnaround plan earlier this month that includes reorganizing the company’s leadership, cutting costs and returning cash to shareholders. The change in sales reporting is meant to help McDonald’s focus on its longer-term performance, Easterbrook said when he announced the shift at an investor conference [recently].

A natural solution for insomnia

Robert Harrington – The many pressures of life have contributed to a veritable epidemic of insomnia. People young and old, rich and poor everywhere have problems getting to sleep at night. Because the relentless stresses of post-modern life constitute the primary cause, insomnia does not seem to discriminate against any particular demographic … except one.

Those folks who really know how to relax and have adopted various stress management techniques seem to fare the best with getting a good night’s sleep. Of all the relaxation techniques one can utilize, none is as effective and fast-working as breathing techniques. There are actually several types of breathing techniques designed for different purposes, each executed according to various patterns and formulas.

Ayurveda, the science of life from India and mother of all healing arts, has much to offer the West, particularly where it concerns proper breath and breathing exercises. The various pranayamas of hatha yoga all find their source in this ancient system which extols the virtues of breath in the healing process.

With that background, an American physician has now developed a yoga-inspired breathing technique because of the many requests that he received from his insomniac patients worldwide. I’ts called the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise.

“The 4-7-8 breathing technique was pioneered by Dr. Andrew Weill from Arizona, who describes the yoga-inspired method as ‘utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere.’Continue reading →

Why it’s so important to maintain liver and gallbladder health

Robert Harrington – The liver is the major detoxification organ of the body. In light of the unprecedented amount of chemical toxicity which now permeates the food supply and water sources, the average American liver is quite burdened and imbalanced. Often times, the liver will become so congested with “liver sludge” that its major detoxification pathways will become severely compromised.

This problem usually affects the gallbladder at the very same time, especially clogging up the bile ducts. Because the liver and gallbladder are closely connected, when bile flow is slowed down there are several consequences which inevitably occur. A proliferation of gallstones is just one byproduct of a congested liver and/or gallbladder.

No Worries: Borscht to the Rescue

“The beet mobilizes the liver like perhaps no other food and in so doing moves gallstones, hardened bile, accumulations of cholesterol, calcified “liver gravel”, chaff and other waste products through the bile ducts and into the GI tract. In this way these unwanted detoxification byproducts can be permanently expelled from the body.” – Source: Beet Borscht: An Extremely Effective Liver Cleanser

Beets are an extremely hardy root vegetable and probably derive their extraordinary capacity to function as a veritable roto rooter from their growing cycle in the rich and sometimes hard soils of the Northern states. Here’s where they are grown across that geographic area: Continue reading →

Reuters – Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said its U.S. units were asking meat suppliers to reduce the use of antibiotics in animals, joining the list of U.S. companies that have responded to consumer and government concerns over the excess use of drugs in livestock.

Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. will also ask suppliers to provide annual reports on antibiotics management and animal welfare, the world’s largest retailer said on Friday.

Public health experts and federal regulators are concerned that routine feeding of antibiotics to animals could spur creation of antibiotic-resistant superbugs in humans, creating a health hazard.

Wal-Mart’s U.S. units will ask suppliers to limit the use of antibiotics for the treatment of sick animals and not to boost their growth, the company said.

“We have listened to our customers, and are asking our suppliers to engage in improved reporting standards and transparency measures regarding the treatment of farm animals,” Kathleen McLaughlin, senior vice president of Walmart sustainability, said in a statement.

Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N), the largest U.S. poultry producer, said in April that it planned to eliminate the use of human antibiotics in its chicken flocks by September 2017.

McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) also said in March its U.S. restaurants would gradually stop buying chicken raised with human antibiotics over the next two years. Continue reading →